What Binds the Fabric Together
by p.a.m. kez
Summary: Alternate Universe- What begins as a hitchhiking trip across Europe ends up having a lot more adventure than initially planned by high school graduate Victor Volt.
1. Chapter 1

Victor opened his eyes and saw things slowly come into focus. He sat up and an unbearable wave of nausea crashed through him, and he flopped back over. He felt the carpet beneath him and thought about how oddly it felt, natural, moist, and ticklish from being so ridiculously long, and then realized it wasn't a carpet, it was grass. That would explain why he was staring up into the galaxy.

The last thing Victor thought before passing out again was, "How did I get here?"

There was an odd sensation of something cool sliding down his throat, and Victor thought it would be best if he swallowed so as to avoid choking. However, he was a bit late to react, and began coughing and sputtering. He blinked his eyes open and saw the silhouette of a girl looking down at him. She turned away and yelled something that was too far away and in too many places for Victor to understand.

Victor attempted to sit up and felt a similar wave of nausea to the earlier one, which he'd forgotten about. The girl began slapping her hands against his face in quick little beats.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" her voice started to come together into one piece. Victor was fairly certain he answered, "No, not really."

"I said, 'Don't try to sit up.' You know why? Because you'll get sick and probably pass out again, that's why."

"Oh," Victor thought he might have said. "I'm sorry."

"Well, just try to relax. Do you remember anything?"

"Well, I remember arriving in Amsterdam… then it's all kind of a blur. And then there's nothing up until now."

"Go to sleep, it's the best you can do for yourself right now." Victor had to refrain from asking something stupid, like for her to keep talking. She had a nice voice, now that he could hear it. Crisp British accent, low and soft, and somehow, like she knew things he didn't.

Somehow Victor managed to doze off.

When he awoke again, Victor slowly sat up and looked around. He wasn't on grass anymore. Now he was on the floor of what looked like an old van decorated to look somewhat like a living room. There was a purple sofa, bright green bean bag chair, end table with a lamp, a small bookshelf, and several things scattered on the floor, such as bags and blankets. In the corner there was an acoustic guitar.

"How the hell did I get here?!" he exclaimed in surprise. He tried opening the back door but found it was locked from the outside. "Hey!" he yelled. He started banging on the door and jiggling the handle as if it would do something.

Pressing his ear against the door, he heard people approaching. He started to bang on the doors again.

"Hey! He-elp!"

"Sounds like he's up," said a male voice from the other side. A female voice said something in reply Victor couldn't hear, but it sent the other voice, as well as a couple others, laughing.

The door opened and Victor fell forward, hanging onto the door handle.

"Careful! You might break the car," said a man with long, blue hair and messy beard. He wore dark sunglasses. Victor noticed that two others, another guy and a girl, were wearing identical shades.

"Okay, Ray, it's your turn to drive," said a familiar female voice. A young woman around Victor's age climbed in the back of the van and sat on the sofa. In the light of what he assumed was morning, Victor was able to get a good look at her for the first time. She had long blonde hair that ended in a neat flip and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her upturned nose. Her eyes were violet with long eyelashes.

The other girl sat on the floor in front of the sofa even there was room for her to sit on it. She wore her also blonde hair in a ponytail. She looked like she was the youngest.

"Uh…" started Victor but the young woman cut him off.

"You're probably wondering what happened," Victor nodded and she continued. "We decided to stop in a field for the night and found you there, totally unconscious, around three in the morning."

"We thought you were a goner," added the younger girl.

"You woke up at some point, but it felt like you had a fever, and you didn't seem to be all there. Had you been drinking at all?"

"Um, I think so, but I don't think I've really eaten in three days."

"You still haven't; here." The young woman tossed him a small, brown paper bag. The bag was warm and emitted a delicious smell.

"What is it?" Victor asked peering in.

"Fish and chips; not much, I know, but they were actually pretty good for fast food."

"Well, actually, I'm a vegetarian…" said Victor, a bit disappointed.

"Oh, so is Ray. He liked them."

"What? Since when was fish a vegetable?"

"Since Ray declared it one! Now eat what you're given or starve!" The young woman became aggressive suddenly.

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry." Victor figured he would just eat the chips (which he was surprised to find was the European name for fries).

"What're your names, by the way?" Victor asked between bites.

"I'm Kowalski," said the younger girl.

"Your parents didn't bother to give you a name?" remarked Victor sarcastically.

"No, I don't really remember my first name, actually," Kowalski giggled. "I think it was Steffi or Sophie or something like that. Anyways, up in the driver's seat is Ray, this is Kent," she gestured to the guy sitting next to her. "And over here," she said dramatically, "is the lovely Anita Knight."

"I'm—"

"Victor Volt, we already know." Anita interrupted.

"Here's your wallet back, by the way," said Kowalski as she handed it to him.

"Hey!" exclaimed Victor.

"Relax, we just took it out to see if there was any form of identification." Anita stated coolly. Victor checked his wallet just to be sure, and when he saw everything was where it should be, he relaxed and put it in his jacket pocket.

"So how long have you been here?" asked Kowalski.

"I have no idea. After I graduated high school I decided I was bored with the suburbs and,"

"You were inspired by Jack Kerouac to go hitchhiking across the country?" inquired Anita.

"Well, a bit more Douglas Adams, but pretty much. At least, that's why I chose Europe and not the States. I started off in Amsterdam, and then I remember hitchhiking all the way to Berlin, and then I think I've been in a haze for at least the past week."

"Well, we're headed for Tuscany. My boyfriend Alphonse lives there, and we might stay at his house for a while and then head off for London." Anita invited. Victor thought it was weird that he felt somewhat disheartened at hearing Anita was in a relationship.

Ray pulled back the red tapestry separating the front seats from the back of the van.

"Are we all clear?"

Everyone called back some kind of affirmative response, and, rather confused, Victor muttered, "I guess so."

"Alright then, we're off!" Ray started the car and they headed off for Tuscany.

---

_Okay, as you can tell, this is an alternate universe (just thought I'd state the obvious there). Thank you to everyone who reviewed my first story, and (while I'm on that subject), Ronnie Knight, you're welcome ;) _


	2. Chapter 2

After a couple of hours on the road Victor was able to get a sense of what everyone was like.

Kowalski was undoubtedly a teenager, and probably grew up in a very confining family, because she was quite rebellious and rejected any form of authority. The only one she would answer to was Ray, who she seemed to look up to as a father figure. She wanted to start a revolution to change the world. The guitar in the corner turned out to belong to her, and she played it quite proficiently.

Ray was the oldest, and rather stolid from the outside. Ray offered some type of stability to the group and you didn't mess with him. If you did, you'd better say your prayers. On his softer side, he was a music lover, a big Elvis fan, and could play the trumpet quite well, which he demonstrated for Victor. He looked out for his friends.

Kent rarely said anything. Victor was unsure what to make of him.

And Anita… What was Victor to make of her? Where Ray provided stability, Anita provided leadership. She wasn't interested in comic books or video games, so when Victor, Kowalski and Kent started talking about them, she read literature. But she didn't seem to be boring, either—she was a black belt in karate ("That means I'm legally licensed to kick ass") and could even do it in heels. There seemed to be something different at every turn.

"Aaaaand… We're in Tuscany!" called Anita, who was driving. Everyone in the

back cheered except for Victor, who was, once again, confused.

"Wait, that was awfully fast. Where did you guys pick me up?"

"Milan," replied Kowalski nonchalantly.

"Okay, not sure how I ended up there, but okay."

Victor decided he would sleep the rest of the way, but that was kind of hard with four other people in the car. He covered his head with his bag and jacket, along with his arm, though it didn't do much.

"You guys are like elephants!" he yelled from under the things on his head. There was some murmuring.

"Sorry!" called Ray.

After some time of not sleeping, Victor probably fell asleep, because he woke up when the back doors of the van opened.

"Alright, Princess Aurora. Time to get up," a voice said and pulled the jacket off of Victor's head.

"Aww, but I don't wanna!" said Victor sleepily.

"Too bad," said Ray. "Get up."

Victor sat up and rubbed his eyes. He searched around for his bag and stuffed his jacket inside of it. Putting his bag on his back, he jumped out from the van and took in the scenery.

There were mountains in the distance, and in front of him was a large, white, decorative house.

Anita was headed for the front door, and looked positively giddy. In the better light, Victor decided her hair was strawberry blonde. He'd never really seen anyone with strawberry blonde hair before, but if there was such a thing, that was probably it.

Victor started to follow Anita, but Ray stopped him.

"We have to wait. Anita's going to see if Alphonse would be okay with having all of us stay here." They all watched as the door opened and Anita stepped inside, and practically held their breaths for a few minutes, until Anita ran back out.

"Alright! He says we all can stay for a few days, but he's got a show coming up, so we'll have to get a move on by Tuesday."

The group cheered, except for Victor, who felt a little—jealous? Why did he feel jealous? What was there even to be jealous _of_? He shrugged it off and followed the band up the path to the house.

---

_Thus concludes chapter two! It's short, I know, but important. Thank you __**Eszie**__ for your review, I look forward to writing the rest of the story!_


	3. Chapter 3

Alphonse was a massive man, and frankly Victor was surprised his legs could support him. His black hair was long in the back and he had a little goatee to match. It was his house that really impressed Victor. The doors were large and oddly shaped, and he had his sculptures out on display.

After being shown to his room (which he shared with Ray and Kent), the first thing Victor did was hop into the shower. He wasn't sure when the last time he showered was, and it felt good to get clean again. He noticed that the water going down the drain had turned brown.

"Ew," he exclaimed.

He stepped out about a half hour later feeling relieved, then stupid upon realizing he didn't have any clean clothes. Or a towel.

He opened the door a crack and peered out. Ray was standing by the door, waiting.

"_Psst!_ Ray!" Victor whispered. Ray looked over at the door.

"'Bout time, shower hog," he commented.

"Ray, can I borrow a towel or bathrobe or something?"

"What?"

"I don't have anything!"

"Nothing?"

"No!"

"Hang on; I think I've got a dressing gown somewhere." After a minute of awkward standing around the bathroom naked, Ray knocked on the door and handed Victor a blue dressing gown. Victor grabbed it, pulled it on hurriedly and tied it shut before leaving the bathroom.

"Thanks, Ray."

"No problem, Victor."

Victor pulled his clothes from his bag. He'd never been really good at doing his own laundry. His mother always did it for him (a problem faced by many graduates). He looked to Kent, who was sitting in a puffy chair, looking through some kind of catalogue.

"Can you help me?"

"No," replied Kent flatly.

"Okay then…" mumbled Victor. He picked up his wadded clothes and headed off to look for some kind of laundry room. This was a more difficult task than Victor had anticipated (which is something you _should_ expect when staying in the home of an eccentric artist you've only just now met).

Whilst wandering down one of the halls, Victor came across Kowalski randomly sitting in the middle of the floor. She was wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt and her sunglasses.

"Hey Kowalski, do you know where the laundry room is?" Victor asked, trying to avoid the obvious.

"I'm sitting next to it," she pointed to the door to her right.

"…Do you think you could…?"

"Put some pants on? I will once they're dry."

"Well, I was going to ask if you could show me how to do laundry, but it would be nice if you were wearing something besides just a shirt… Then again, I'm naked under this robe, so…"

"Well, I'm sure I needed that last piece of information, but sure, I can show you. Come here," she opened the door, and it lead to a room that looked, surprisingly, much like the laundry room back home. "It's simple, really. You separate your dark clothes from light ones, and put them in separately. It doesn't look like you really have that problem, though…" Kowalski continued, showing Victor the settings and how much detergent to use.

"Where's Anita, by the way?" Victor asked when Kowalski finished.

"She's with Alphonse; I think he's showing her some of his new sculptures."

"Uh-huh." The dryer dinged. Kowalski opened it, dug through and pulled up a wrinkled pair of blue jeans.

"Why? Do you like her?" Kowalski teased as she pulled on the jeans.

"What? No! I've only known her a couple of hours. I've only known _you_ a couple of hours."

"It seems like so much longer, doesn't it?" Kowalski let out a contented sigh. "Happiness is a warm pair of jeans." She walked out and headed down the corridor.

---

As Ray headed back to his room, he noticed Anita standing in the hall with her head leaning in the frame of a door. Her arms were crossed, and her back was to him.

"Hey, Anita. What's the matter?"

"Alphonse asked me to marry him," she said blankly.

"Congratulations," said Ray.

"I haven't accepted, though."

"Why not? Isn't this a good thing?"

"I would think so, and it's funny, but if I had been here yesterday and he'd asked me then, I would definitely have said yes,"

"So what's different?"

"I don't know, I was excited at first, and I was about to accept, but then reality kind of came crashing down on me."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm eighteen, Ray. I've been on the road with you for two years,"

"Has it really been that long?" Ray interrupted.

"Yeah, crazy, right?" she turned around to face him. "And they've been some of the best years of my life, but I don't want to be on the road forever. And I don't want to go straight from being a hitchhiker to a wife, either.

"I don't know what to do, I feel so confused." She leaned against Ray, who patted her back.

"At least you're not the one nearing your thirties." Ray chuckled. "I feel so old." Anita made a noise that was probably a laugh.

"But if you need anyone to talk to, I'm always willing to listen. So are Kowalski and Kent, and maybe even Victor. And even if you do accept Alphonse's proposal, you don't have to get married right away. You're the bride; that makes it _your_ day. It should be when you feel ready for it."

"Thank you, Ray. You're a real friend, you know that?" Anita gave him a hug. "I'll be in my room."

"Alright, see you." Ray smiled and wandered off in the opposite direction.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was Monday, and Anita woke up to find Kowalski hugging her in her sleep. This was something Kowalski had the habit of doing, and Anita didn't really mind all that much. She was like a little sister to her. Anita gingerly lifted Kowalski's arm, sat up and pushed back the curtains on the window. Kowalski groaned and turned over, pulling the covers over her head.

Anita got out of the bed and looked through her bag for something to wear. She noticed on the back of her wrist there was a small '~' shaped cut. Anita frowned, having no idea where it came from. She pulled a light purple shirt and blue jeans out of her bag.

"Anita?" Kowalski said in a small, drowsy voice.

"Hm?"

"Where are we?"

"We're at Alphonse's house, remember?"

"Oh, yeah… Alphonse. How is he, anyways?"

"Anxious for an answer," Anita pulled on her shirt.

"To what?" Anita realized she'd only told Ray about Alphonse's proposal.

"To whether I'll marry him or not." Kowalski felt a fiery rush go through her chest. Anita's answer was quite unexpected. She jumped out of the bed (although the jump was really more of a swift roll onto the floor) and hugged Anita tightly.

"You won't leave us, will you?" Anita was a bit confused.

"No, of course not!" she kissed Kowalski on top of her head. Kowalski acted like she was real tough and grown up, but she was only fifteen, and still very much a child. "Come on, why don't you get dressed? Maybe we'll go out and get some breakfast." Kowalski picked up her sunglasses and put them on.

"Alrightie then…"

---

Victor awoke, once again, on the floor. He kept his eyes closed and rolled around uncomfortably. He sat up and opened his eyes. Kent was already awake and dressed; Ray was looking in the mirror, combing his beard.

"Let's see: I'm in Tuscany, staying in a sculptor's house with a group of hitchhikers I've known for all of twenty-four hours? Yeah, I'd say this is turning out to be a pretty worthwhile trip." Victor stood up and grabbed a T-shirt and jeans from his bag. The shirt was blue and stated "She Blinded Me with SCIENCE". It was an old shirt of Victor's that he got in his sophomore year at a convention, and he liked it a lot, which was why he still had it. When he turned around, Victor caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

"Whoa, do I have facial hair?" he said, coming closer to the mirror for a better look.

"A bit late for puberty, isn't it?" asked Ray, who was now making the bed.

"Ha-ha," said Victor sarcastically. "Do you ever even shave that thing?"

"Do I look like I've got anything to shave it with?" Ray said. "And no, I don't shave it, nor do I plan to."

Someone knocked at the door.

"Oh, boys! I hope you're all up and dressed!" called Kowalski through the door in a high, silly voice.

"Yeah, we'll be out in a minute!" replied Kent. "Actually, what am I still doing in here?" He opened the door and walked through. "_They_'_ll_ be out in a minute." He shut the door behind him.

---

Kowalski and Kent stood out in the hallway together.

"I like your shirt," Kent commented. Kowalski was wearing a red Mardi gras tank top with the letters in various colours, and a little purple heart.

"Thanks. I like your shades."

"Did you go to Mardi Gras?"

"Yeah, once, when I was thirteen. We went to New Orleans for a Girl Scout trip and it would have been more fun if the troop moms hadn't been so controlling! Ugh!"

"They couldn't have been that bad, could they?" Kowalski looked at him with an odd, tight smile.

"They didn't want to go to Mardi gras. They wanted to eat dinner in the hotel restaurant and stay in the rooms because they were 'too tired!'" She ended the sentence in a mocking voice. "Luckily, the girls in my room slipped our chaperone some sleeping pills and we snuck out." She tugged at her shirt. "This tank is my witness stand," she said proudly.

"Sounds like you had fun to me," said Kent.

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"You shouldn't do that; a cat might get it."

"A cat, eh? I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she snickered. "I always wanted a cat." She stuck her tongue out again. "You see any?"

"Just one," Kent leaned in and kissed her. Kowalski was definitely not expecting this. Even so, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

"How old are you again?" she asked quietly.

"Seventeen," he replied. Kowalski smirked.

"You're not a cat, though."

"Says who?"

"Says me!" Kowalski pulled his arm and they ran down the hallway.

---

Anita sat in a chair in Alphonse's studio. He was sketching rather than sculpting, and seemed quite into it. His pencil scratched furiously at the paper in front of him.

"Do you have an answer?" he asked suddenly, surprising Anita.

"Huh, what?" she had been lost in her thoughts.

"Will you marry me or not?"

"I, um, I… don't know." She blurted out.

"And there's your answer," said Alphonse.

"What do you mean? 'I don't know' isn't an answer!" Anita was confused and panicking a little. Alphonse stopped sketching.

"Anita," he seated himself next to her. "In this case, it is. You don't know because you don't know yourself well enough yet, and that is fine, you are young. You have your whole life ahead of you, whatever it may bring," he held her face in his palm. "And I would not want to take that away from you." Anita had no idea how to respond, so she just kept her mouth shut and tried to refrain from crying.

"I'm sorry," her voice was choked. She wanted to tell him No, she _did_ want to marry him, but then she thought of all the other things she wanted to do. She thought of Kowalski, her self-proclaimed little sister, Ray, her dear friend, Kent, the quiet, serious guy, and Victor, who she wanted to get to know better. "I'm sorry…" she said again.

"It is alright, Anita." Alphonse kissed her forehead, then her lips. "I wish you the best of luck."

"I wish the same for you," said Anita, and they pulled into a solemn embrace.

---

After a couple of hours, the band was back on the road. Kent slept in a corner with Kowalski leaning up against him, Ray drove, and Victor and Anita sat on the couch.

"I thought we were leaving on Tuesday?" said Victor.

"Well, I thought it was kind of awkward…" mumbled Anita.

"Oh, did you and Alphonse break up?"

"Kind of, yeah."

"I'm sorry." Sorry he asked.

"I just hope it wasn't a bad move," Anita said in a low voice.

"You are a redhead! No move you make could possibly be a bad one." Anita laughed.

"Strawberry blonde," she corrected.

Kowalski sat up and poked Kent on the arm.

"Hey, Kent, wake up." She poked him again but he stayed in place. "Oh, he's dead." Kent looked up at her in a playfully annoyed way. "Oh, crap. Kent's a zombie!" She called out in a tattletale voice.

"Kowalski's a vampire!" Kent teased back.

"Ray's a werewolf!" yelled Anita.

"Anita's a mermaid!" Ray yelled back.

"What about me?" said Victor, feeling left out. They were silent as they tried to think of something.

"You can be a brownie," said Anita.

"A brownie?! No! I want to be something cool!"

"How about a faun?"

"Still no,"

"You're so picky!" Anita laughed.

"You guys suck!" said Victor.

"Okay, enough! Look, how about we stop? I need to get gas and its right next to a rest stop, so I want everyone to get out." Ray pulled into a lot and parked.

The back doors of the van opened and everyone shielded their eyes, even Kent and Kowalski, who were, as always, wearing sunglasses. They stumbled out of the car and headed for the rest stop, and Ray got back in the driver's seat.

---

When Victor walked out of the restroom he looked around the stop for any of his friends. He noticed the glow of strawberry blonde hair lying in the grass and headed over. Anita was staring at the sky with her hands resting on her stomach. Victor lay down next to her.

"Hey, Anita. You seem pretty upset; do you want to talk about it?"

"Hmm, not really."

"Are you sure?"

"Well…" Anita bit her lip. "Alphonse proposed to me, but I couldn't make up my mind, and he told me that meant I'm too young to know what I want. He told me I could stay until tomorrow, but I felt it would be too awkward, so I just told him we would all go."

"I see. Do you think you know what you want?"

"I thought I did," Anita sighed. "But I guess not."

"Well," Victor started but Kowalski came and lay down next to Anita before he could say anything.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

"We're just, you know, hanging out, lying on the ground at a rest stop—normal stuff." Victor joked.

Kent walked over, shrugged, and lay down with them. Kowalski started singing "Strawberry Fields Forever" under her breath.

"No, I'm not sleeping in a field again." Ray's voice said suddenly.

"We're not sleeping," said Anita. Ray lay down between Kent and Kowalski.

"Well, we are lying in the grass." They were in something of a circle, all looking up at the sky, wondering where the road would take them next.

---

_Whoo, dramuh. That was a pretty long chapter, too, however important. I have a lot more planned for this story (my idea is that it spans over a year, but it may end up being shorter than that). Thank you everyone for the reviews; hope you all enjoyed this chapter!_


	5. Chapter 5

Victor awoke feeling groggy with a sense of déjà vu. He felt around him, and found he was in some kind of bed. He opened his eyes and was looking straight into the eye of a computer, above a screen.

Victor yelped and fell off the bed-type-thingy he was on. The computer moved towards him and its eye did some kind of scan of his face.

_"Please remain calm,"_ it said in a British accent. _"Your memory will be returned to you shortly._" The screen moved away and seemed to disappear.

Memory? Victor racked his mind; he came up with nothing after graduation and beach week. There was a sense of knowing what had happened after, like it was in the back of his mind but couldn't quite think of it.

The lights in the room suddenly turned on, and Victor thought the décor looked like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie. The walls had weird designs on them, and then Victor realized that was because the walls were all kinetic technology. He looked down and found even more surprises: he wasn't wearing whatever it was he had last put on. This was some kind of grey-and-black uniform with a red belt. Victor tugged at the shirt, not knowing how he came to be wearing it.

"_Agent! Are you still alive?" _A voice asked out of nowhere. Victor yelped and looked around. There was no one else there. He felt his ear and found a headset.

"Uh… Yes, I'm still alive." Victor replied uncertainly.

"_Good! Just making sure,"_ whoever was speaking had a German brogue. _"That computer lied, though; I won't turn your memory back on for another couple of hours. _Auf Wiedersehen_."_ Something beeped and Victor knew the connection was cut. He sat on the bed-type-thingy dejectedly.

Victor let his eyes wander around the room and noticed next to the bed-type-thingy was a red backpack. Curious (and pretty bored), he got down on the floor, opened it up and looked through it.

The first thing he pulled up looked like a blue oldish cell phone with a screen and three sideways teardrop shaped buttons. He set it aside and reached back in, pulling up a pink bunny. More confused than ever, Victor was unsure if he should continue or not. He reached back in and pulled up some kind of colourful gun. Also in the bag were a pair of sunglasses that looked extremely familiar, and Victor was sure that he knew at least three people who wore ones just like them. Then he pulled up a sandwich wrapped in cellophane.

He leaned back against the bed-type-thingy. Where was he? How did he get here? Why couldn't he remember anything? And what had that German guy meant? Just as Victor felt sure he was about to cry, one of the walls split apart neatly and slid away from each other. A well-dressed man wearing sunglasses like the ones Victor found in the backpack stepped in as Victor stood up.

"Come with me please, Agent Victor Volt."

Agent? Why was everyone calling him that? And how did this guy know his name? Afraid to ask questions, however full of them he was, Victor started towards the door but the man motioned for him to stop. He pointed to the mess on the floor.

"Put everything back in your backpack except for your sunglasses. Put those on, take your bag, and _then_ come with me." Victor backed away, put away the strange objects, closed the backpack, and put on the sunglasses. It felt weird wearing them indoors.

Victor walked silently beside the strange man and stopped when he did. A door slid open. The man motioned for Victor to go inside, so he did. The door shut behind him; the man who had escorted him did not come in.

The room looked like a large theatre, with seats, a stage with a podium, and a large screen. It looked like some people were sitting in the front row, so Victor headed over there. He sat next to a girl wearing his exact uniform (and upon further inspection, saw that the others in the row were also wearing it), and he saw she had strawberry blonde hair and a purple headband. He could swear he'd known her from somewhere, but couldn't remember where specifically, or who she was.

"Do I know you?" she asked.

"I think so," replied Victor. "But I can't really remember."

"I'm Anita Knight. Or, Agent Anita Knight, apparently. I don't know why everyone keeps calling me that, though."

"I'm Victor Volt, and people keep calling me 'Agent', too! I can't figure out how I got here, either."

"Me either! It feels like I'm missing a few key details."

"Hey, did that German guy call you on that little headset thingy, too?"

"Yeah, he said he would turn my memory back on within a couple of hours."

"He asked me if I was still alive."

Someone called for attention, and Victor, Anita, and the three others silenced. That someone was an older looking man with a moustache and jacket. He was leaning against a mantelpiece that wasn't there before.

"Hello trainee agents, and welcome to U.Z.Z."

---

_Ooh, how did this happen? You'll have to wait and see. Bwahaha cliffhanger. Aren't I just so cruel? :D _


	6. Chapter 6

"As you have been informed, your memories have been temporarily wiped for security reasons, and it is for reasons of security my name is changed daily. Today, you may call me…" The man reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a communicator almost identical to the one Victor found in his backpack, only red. It beeped and the screen lit up "Ohh…Squeaky McWalrus," Victor, as well as the others, snickered.

"As regaining your memory will be an overwhelming experience, I shall explain what happened verbally. There have been a shortage of agents here at U.Z.Z. and that has made it difficult to keep villains under control. Yesterday, shortly after arriving in London, the five of you were randomly attacked by U.Z.Z.'s main enemy: T.H.E.M.

"Our top agents were sent to handle the situation but found that you already had the situation quite under control…" Squeaky McWalrus continued, but Victor was still terribly lost. He suddenly snapped, "Agent Victor! Pay attention." Victor looked at him.

"No, I've been listening; I just don't think it's helped." Victor said. "And another thing," he continued, "Why does everyone keep calling me an agent?! I never agreed to this and I won't agree to it until something starts to make sense!" Squeaky McWalrus raised his eyebrows.

"You already did; check your pocket," he said casually.

"My pocket?" Victor felt the side if his pants and found in one pocket what appeared to be an ID card. It had his picture and "Agent Victor Thomas Jefferson Volt". "This is insane…" said Victor under his breath.

"Yes, quite," said Squeaky McWalrus. "All of you will be placed in training for a week or so and then it will be decided which field you would be most suitable."

---

Kent already knew about U.Z.Z.

He also already knew about T.H.E.M.

Breaking into the U.Z.Z. base was something he'd been trying to do for some time, then got sidetracked after being left behind by fellow expendables. He started hitchhiking to try and get back but ended up with a bunch of travelling Bob Dylan-types who ended up becoming his friends.

And here he was in the U.Z.Z. base, as a secret double agent.

Kent smiled a bit to himself. Just wait 'till he told Doctor Doctor about this.

---

After being given a tour of the U.Z.Z. base, the five new agents were brought to a lab, where their memories would be returned. There they met a short, bald man with some green hair in the back. He wore thick, circular, red glasses, a lab coat, long, grey trousers, and green gloves.

"Welcome to my lab! Look at all my kooky gadgets; crazy, huh?" Victor jumped back and pointed at him in surprise.

"You! You're that German guy!"

"No, I am a Professor!"

---

Soon afterwards, Victor, as well as the others, found themselves strapped into some kind of bed-table with a mask over each of their mouths. This was so none of them did any physical harm to themselves or others while regaining their memory, which was a distinct possibility.

You see, when Squeaky McWalrus said that regaining their memory would be overwhelming, it was an understatement to the point of ridiculous. Having your memory turned back on, particularly when the person doing so is named Professor Professor, is hard to describe. A few minutes before they actually come, there is a sensation like you're standing in an ocean—Jaws, for example—and watching as a huge wave forms, whilst standing there not really doing anything. This particular tidal wave takes several minutes to get into full gear, and meanwhile you're just standing there waiting, because if you try to run it'll just make things worse for you. Then, just as you start to think about turning around and going to the cemetary located conveniently across the way, the wave hits you at full force, and everything comes rushing back, and your mind goes tumbling about like you would if you get hit by a wave.

For many people, this sensation causes them to become physically sick, and Victor was, unluckily, one of those people. That is why, whenever someone at U.Z.Z. has their memory turned back on, a team of medically trained agents are present.

Victor would have been surprised at what he remembered had they not been his memories and he'd voluntarily had them turned off, which he now remembered doing.

---

_Okay, yeah, that was a pretty short chapter, and I'm sorry it took me so long! The next one I can guarantee will be much longer, and just as a heads-up, you may become confused. _


	7. Chapter 7

The sky was a light purple blended with its normal blue. "Maggie's Farm" was playing on the radio and Kowalski and Kent seemed to be in a bizarre battle of Beatles references. Victor listened for a while until Ray told them to cut it out. Then, he looked to Anita, who held a small stack of photograph prints.

"Who's that?" he asked, causing Anita to look up. She hadn't been paying attention.

"This was my favourite sixth form teacher, Professor Vincent Archdale. He always knew exactly what to say, and everything he said was worth listening to, I avoided missing his class at all costs. Honestly, I'd say he was the best teacher I've ever had in my life. He and I were very close friends, and when I asked if he would model for me for my photography class, he agreed without hesitation. He was very photogenic. Would you like to see?" Victor nodded, and she handed him the prints.

Vincent Archdale had silvery hair and was well-dressed with a cane. His face appeared very thoughtful and wise; He looked the way you would think a great professor would. In one photo he was seated by a window looking out, another was black-and-white, and he was leaning against a doorframe.

"You took these pictures?"

"Yes, do you like them?"

"Do I like them? What a question! They look so professional, I can hardly believe it."

"Well, 'professional' was what I was going for," Anita said with a small smile.

"So do you keep in touch with him?" Victor asked about Professor Vincent.

"I wish I could... You see, Vincent had bone cancer, and at the end of the first semester," Anita's voice started to choke up, "His cancer relapsed. There wasn't really anything they could do for him, so even though he was deteriorating before our eyes, he came to class. He didn't care that he was dying; he would teach the class and listen to my problems like he always did." Anita was, at this point, hugging her knees to her chest and leaning against Victor, who had his arm around her. "He died in the middle of the second semester. After his funeral I couldn't take going to school and having him not there, so I quit sixth form and went on the road with Ray."

"How long ago did all this happen?"

"Two years ago," said Anita, who had her head between her knees.

"Two years ago?!" exclaimed Victor. "You've been on the road for _two years_?!"

"Yes!" called Ray from the driver's seat.

"Okay, but shouldn't you have stopped like, a long time ago?" Anita looked up at him.

"Once you're on the road, it's nearly impossible to leave," her eyes seemed to be blazing into his soul, "Especially when you don't have anywhere else to go."

"I'm sorry," said Victor awkwardly.

"It's alright," said Anita. "I just wish I could have known him longer. I thought of him as the most intelligent man I'd ever met. I don't know if I'll ever meet anyone quite like him again, and frankly, I think I prefer it that way."

---

There was a quiet that night. Ray pulled over to the side of the road and slept in the front seat, the others slept in the back. Kent and Kowalski appeared to be cuddling, and Victor wondered how long this had been going on.

At some point, Victor found Anita resting her head on his stomach.

"What are you doing?" he asked sleepily.

"You have a soft stomach… it makes a comfortable pillow." Anita replied in an equally sleepy way. Victor huffed teasingly.

"Are you calling me fat?"

"It's better than calling you bony, right?" Victor was so tired he was unsure if he answered.

---

When Victor woke up, the van was already in motion. Anita was still asleep, with her head still resting on his stomach. He found himself playing with her hair. It was very soft and made him think of a strawberry plant he'd grown in a little pot as a child. He wasn't sure why; perhaps because she'd described herself as being strawberry blonde. He closed his eyes and continued to stroke her silk-like hair.

Then he heard a sound like someone singing "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", which turned out to be Kowalski. She was lying on her back and seemed to be trying to dance to it.

"What are you doing?" laughed Victor.

"I'm listening to music. And this isn't uncommon for us; if you're ever in a bar and hear some people in the back singing that, 'Secret Agent Man' or 'Submission' or something really loud, it's probably us."

"You have some interesting tastes in music," remarked Victor.

"Hey, 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' is _hardcore_. It's like, the hip granddaddy of metal."

"I never said otherwise."

Just then, Anita stretched out, accidentally punching Victor in the face.

"Ow!"

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry!" She had her hands over her mouth and seemed to be trying not to laugh.

"It's alright," Victor rubbed his jaw.

"Are you sure? I didn't realize you were right there."

"Yeah, and you were using my stomach as a pillow, actually." Anita laughed.

"I was?"

"Yeah, you seemed to find him very comfy," said Kowalski, joining in on the conversation. Anita lay back down onto Victor.

"He is very comfy!" she exclaimed.

"And I just realized that this is very _un_comfortable," said Victor, who suddenly felt awkward.

"How so?" asked Anita.

"Um…" stammered Victor, "You know, like, you've got your head on my stomach, and it's kind of hard to breathe…" Kowalski had a smug-looking grin spreading across her face.

"You could have just said something, you know." Anita sat up and hugged her knees. She was leaning towards Victor, who felt an urge to lean forward and kiss her, and then shrugged it off. _What am I thinking?!_ He thought. _That's a one-way ticket to being punched in the face on purpose._

Victor talked to Ray to try and get his mind off of it.

---

At some point, Ray parked the car in some kind of lot in front of a large building.

"Grab anything you can carry on your own," he instructed.

"Why?" asked Kowalski.

"It's a secret," said Ray.

He then told them to wait on a bench and that he would be right back. They waited for about an hour before Ray finally came back.

"Where have you been? And where's the van?" demanded Anita, who was miffed at waiting on a bench for over an hour.

"I sold the van and everything in it, so I hope none of you left anything valuable in there."

"The couch!" cried Kowalski. The couch was sacred, or so they considered it to be.

"I know, I know, but we wouldn't have been able to take it with us."

"How are we going to go anywhere without a van?" asked Victor.

"I bought us all plane tickets for the next flight to London, so we have to hurry." The group exchanged glances.

"London?" they asked in unintentional unison.

"Yes, so grab your stuff. We've got to get a move on." Ray picked his bag up, as well as a box. The rest picked up their things as well, considering they didn't have any other choice.

Like all plane rides, it was long, tiring, and guaranteed to make you look a mess no matter how well you were dressed when you boarded.

Victor was amazed at how much had changed in a matter of two days.

He almost died, befriended a group of hitchhikers, stayed at an eccentric artist's house, learned to do laundry, had a girl sleep with her head on his stomach, and now was on a spontaneous trip to London. He thought "found love" as well but quickly scribbled it out from his mental list.

After finally getting out of the airport, the group ventured outside and stuck out their thumbs.

---

Meanwhile, a pair of expendables noticed one of the hitchhikers.

"Hey! Do you think that could be…?"

"…Pink X? I think it is! But what's he doing here? I thought he was dead, or in Vienna!"

"Let's get a closer look," they jumped down and partially surrounded the group.

"Give us Kent!" one yelled.

"What? No!" Kowalski kicked the expendable in the shin. Kent pretended to have no idea what was going on.

"Who are you people?" Anita stipulated. The expendables refused to answer and charged. Anita kicked one of them in the abdomen, knocking him over. Victor hit the other in the back of the neck in a chop sort of way, also sending the expendable to the ground.

"Nice work, Victor," commented Anita.

"I was just lucky; I didn't think I'd gotten the right pressure point!"

Then, a bunch of uniformed people wearing sunglasses appeared riding what looked like hovering Mopeds.

"They seem to have the situation under control!" yelled one of the Hovering Moped Riders.

The expendables got up and darted off in the commotion.

"We're going to need you to come with us," said another Hovering Moped Rider.

"Why? What did we do? _They_ attacked _us_!" complained Victor.

"Yes, exactly," the hoverbiker said in a conclusive way.

---

It was like the universe had shattered and then all come back together. Victor thought about throwing up, then changed his mind, and then did it anyway. He then considered maybe that he was in fact a pumpkin named Longboat Key, and then decided he was not a pumpkin named Longboat Key but rather an out-of-place whale named Lawrence.

And then he thought, _Oh, no, not again_ but wasn't sure why.

Then, things started making sense again, and he realized that he was definitely a human named Victor Volt, not a whale or a pumpkin.

When he was finally back in the lab, Victor looked over at the girl he now remembered as being Anita and saw she was crying.

---

_Oh, sorry this took longer than usual. I've been feeling kind of uninspired. Two of those paragraphs near the end were fun to write, though. _

_On a rather unrelated side note, I think I'll dress up as Doctor Doctor for Halloween. I call it!_

_Also, all the songs I mentioned are real--they're also all real **old**. I've got some obscure taste for someone my age._


	8. Chapter 8

Victor and Ray were roomed together, as were Kowalski and Anita. Kent was roomed with a random, also-new agent.

Victor sat on the dorm bed. This wasn't exactly his top choice for college. Ray was upset at being in school again; he'd already graduated university some years before and thought he was done with it.

The walls of the dorm were not unlike those of a normal university dormitory. There was a bulletin board on the wall of the room with a calendar already there. Victor figured the last person or persons to live in the room left it there. However, it was marked to the current date, which Victor was surprised to see as late August. He'd left for Europe in mid-July.

"How long was I out of it?" he asked aloud, flipping the calendar to make sure it was correct. It was the right year and the right month. Victor realized that he should probably call his mom to assure her he was alright, as far as he knew, but he wouldn't be coming home anytime soon.

Ray had left for some reason without telling Victor, so what happened when he returned came as quite a shock to Victor.

Ray's hair, previously almost to his shoulders, was now short, clean and combed-back. His face was clean-shaven, except for his sideburns, which looked neater now. Victor looked up from his communicator, which he had been playing with, and thought Ray was someone else.

"Hey, what're you—"

"Hi, Victor."

"_Whoa_! You look different!"

"I know," Ray sat on the bed opposite Victor's. "It feels so weird. Like, it feels like my beard is still there, but when I reach up to touch it, all I'm feeling is my chin."

There was a knock at the door.

"It's me," called Anita from the other side.

"It's unlocked," replied Ray. Anita opened the door, looked to Ray and gave him a surprised smile.

"Ray, your hair is short! And you shaved your beard!"

"Yes, I know," Ray buried his head in his hands. "It's horrible."

"Actually, I think you look nice this way," Anita commented. "I'm glad you kept the sideburns, though." She stroked them with her finger.

"Of course," said Ray. "Can't lose the sideburns."

---

September flew by like a skybike, which was what the Hovering Moped Thingies were called. It was quickly decided that Ray was best doing more commanding work, and he began working towards becoming a Special Agent.

Victor and Anita were surprised to find that they'd been partnered, and being as skilled as they were, were able to get a jump start towards becoming Secret Agents.

Kowalski ran away, much to the annoyance of Ray. He planned on going off to search for her, but Kent insisted he go.

"Really? I didn't think she even liked you that much," Ray remarked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"We're getting along better now," Kent reassured.

"That had better be the case, Agent Kent." Ray said, leaving Kent a bit put off.

---

In early October, Victor visited Anita in her dorm. She was standing in the middle of the floor, stretching.

"Hey, Anita," greeted Victor.

"Hi, Victor," she said from the floor.

"Hey, Anita, um…"

"Yes?"

"Back when we first started here at U.Z.Z., when we got our memories turned back on, I noticed that you were crying, and, um…"

"Oh, Victor, that was months ago."

"Well, I guess I didn't want to bring it up before…"

"I was crying because I remembered that Alphonse and I broke up. I've gotten over it."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some other reason."

"Aww, thanks for the concern, but I really am fine now."

"Hey, what are partners for?"

"A lot more than that," Anita poked his shoulder, much to Victor's annoyance.

---

_Yeah, another short chapter. I'm just feeling so uninspired! I know I need to stop thinking about it so much, but man… I'm honestly not really sure where to take it from here! Any suggestions? _


	9. Chapter 9

About two weeks after she ran away for the third time, Kowalski was returned to U.Z.Z. Ray arranged to talk with her rather than some unfamiliar agent. He paced about the room, while Kowalski sat in a chair impatiently.

"Why do you do this to me?" Ray asked finally.

"What do you mean?" asked Kowalski obnoxiously.

"What—you had me worried! Running off like that… You're not from London, Kowalski, you don't know your way around here."

"And you do?"

"Do you not hear my voice, Kowalski? Do you not hear that London Cockney accent?"

"So I guessed right; you are Cockney." Kowalski looked at her fingernails.

"That's not the point!" Ray yelled, sending Kowalski leaning backwards with surprise. "You could have gotten hurt, or killed! You don't know how to survive on the streets alone!"

"You've changed, Ray. You used to be cool."

"I would have gotten just as upset if you'd run away while we were on the road! And I am still cool!"

"You can't treat me like this! You're not my father!"

"What do you care? You hate the man!"  
"You're just like them, Ray! You're just like all of them!" Now Ray had no idea what she was talking about, but whatever it was, it was bad enough to make Kowalski cry.

"Come now, Kowalski…" He walked over to her and tried to pull her into a hug, but she shoved him away.

"Go away! I hate you! I hate you all!"

"You know what your problem is, Kowalski?" Ray asked as he headed for the door. "You're too juvenile. This is the real world. Here is a bit of advice…" He turned towards her. "Grow up." He shut the door behind him.

Kowalski curled up on the chair. Ray's words stung, partly because she did see him like a father, but mainly because, as much as she hated to admit it, Ray was right. She _was_ being juvenile and she _did_ need to grow up.

"Look where that's gotten you," Kowalski muttered to herself. She looked at the nicks and cuts on her wrists and forearms, and the bruises. She pulled out her ponytail.

She'd left the comfort of her house, and while her parents were controlling, they did provide her with food and shelter, and a comfortable bed. She ran away on a trip to Europe, and hitchhiked until she ended up with Ray and Anita, and they became family to her. She did a lot of stupid things, like drugs, but it didn't seem like a big deal. If she ever got herself into trouble, or was upset, she could turn to Ray or Anita. They would listen and provide a shoulder to cry on. Then, she started doing things with Kent behind their backs. She'd betrayed their trust, and now she was angry at Ray for being responsible! And for caring about her!

She stood up and looked at her reflection in a Plexiglas mirror and saw her red-rimmed eyes, her stained cheeks, messy hair and places where she had been bleeding. She leaned her head against the mirror and lightly pounded her fist against it.

"You've done it now, Kowalski," she said to herself softly. "You've finally hit rock bottom." She took her head off the mirror, licked her palms and attempted to clean her face.

"Well, never again," she puffed out her chest and stood up straight. "I'm not going to play the victim anymore." She walked over to the door and knocked.

"I'm ready to come out now," she called to the agent on the other side. She was ready. She was ready to walk through that door she entered as a child, and exit it as an adult.

---

The month of October passed about as quickly as September did. Victor and Anita were allowed to go on missions, and the uniforms they had to wear became more comfortable as the days grew colder.

One afternoon, Victor received an official-looking letter in the mail.

It was a deportation notice.

Now, not too long ago, Victor would have been _thrilled_ to have gotten this notice. Finally, he could go home, see his mom, his friends, go to school, and probably get a job waiting tables or something to help pay for tuition. But now, with Ray and Anita and Kowalski—he wasn't so sure about Kent—weren't they his friends? U.Z.Z. kind of worked like a school and a job—well, not just a job, but an entire _career_. Okay, maybe his mom wasn't there, but you've got to leave home sometime, and he'd be away anyways if he'd gone to GMU like he'd initially planned.

He had to fix this—there was no way he could just get up and leave. Not now. He decided to talk to Ray, who studied law, rather briefly, but could probably be able to help regardless.

"Well, since you're already an agent, U.Z.Z. should be able to take care of this, no problem."

"Oh, thank you so much, Ray. I owe you big-time," Victor was relieved as if Ray had just saved him from certain high-school-rated doom.

"You seem awfully happy at not being deported; and you seemed so upset at being stuck here not too long ago."

"Yeah, well, originally my plan was to hitchhike for two weeks and then go back home to prepare for college. Now I've gotten used to it; and besides—how many eighteen-year-olds do you know get to help save the world?"

"Actually—"

"You know what I mean, Ray."

While this blew over quite easily, it was quite a revelation to Victor. London was no longer just where he lived: it was home.

---

_Okay! I've been wanting to do that first part for a while now, and decided that now that they've been in U.Z.Z. for a couple of chapters, I may as well do it now. The second part I came up with just today. Still, I'm not entirely sure where to take it from here. I'll probably just wing it again._


	10. Chapter 10

Anita walked into her dorm room feeling quite pleased. It was early December and she and Victor had an impending promotion. Looking around the room, Anita saw that Kowalski was not there. She sat down on her bed and flipped through the official U.Z.Z. handbook.

At some point, Kowalski shakily walked in. She felt lucky that Anita had left the door wide open for her, because, as Anita noticed, she felt and looked somewhat like flimsy paper.

"Are you alright, Kowalski?" Anita asked with concern. Kowalski flopped on her bed facedown. She looked over at Anita.

"I just spent the past half hour in the bathroom barfing my guts out…" she said weakly.

"Why? Are you alright?" Anita came off her bed and kneeled beside Kowalski's.

"I think it might be the flu…" Anita felt her forehead and cheeks.

"Hm, you don't feel that warm. Maybe you're just stressed."

"Yeah, that could be it. And I want some Fettuccini Alfredo."

"I don't know if you should be eating that," said Anita.

"Why not? It's so mild. And I'm hungry!"

"Well, maybe if you're feeling better later we can go out to eat somewhere, but for now, just try and relax, alright?"

"Alright… I'll try and ignore the agonizing pain of starvation… and then die…" Anita laughed.

"How maudlin," Anita and Kowalski laughed together.

---

Pink X stepped into the Spiderbase and found Doctor Doctor facing a window with her back to him. There had been a power outage and the base was now lit by candles and battery-run lanterns.

"Hullo, Kent B. Trusted," said Doctor Doctor without even looking. "You tell me you unintentionally became a double agent?"

"Yes, ma'am, I have. I am now an agent at U.Z.Z."

"Excellent! Have you any information for me?"

"Well, only that I've gained the trust of a few other agents, but as a standard agent I'm not told much."

"Well, then, you're going to have to find out, aren't you?" Doctor Doctor said.

"Yes, ma'am, I shall." Doctor Doctor, still facing the window, smiled.

"Good boy."

---

"Have you told your mum why you can't come home?" Ray asked Victor at lunch around mid-December.

"Well, yeah, I have, but she doesn't seem to grasp it. And if she does, she's not acting like it."

"Hey, guys," Anita sat next to them.

"Hi, Anita. Where's Kowalski?" Ray asked.

"She's not feeling well. It could be stress, but we're going to see how she feels tomorrow."

"Poor girl," said Ray. "I wonder if I was too hard on her…"

"What do you mean?" asked Anita.

"Well, after she was returned from running away again, I tried talking to her, but she was being very arrogant and it made me angry. So I told her to grow up."

"Doesn't sound like you were being very hard on her to me," said Victor. "And her performance has really improved; she seems more serious and dedicated now."

"I know, but still…" Ray trailed off.

"You don't want to hurt your relationship with her. It's totally fine, Ray—I think you got through to her." Anita said reassuringly.

"I guess so, but I hope she's not overworking herself."

---

As Christmas day neared, the days continually got colder, and on the 22nd, it snowed. Victor and Anita were walking towards the U.Z.Z. base when it started. Victor looked to Anita and saw snowflakes had gotten caught in her eyelashes, which he thought looked cute.

"You've got snowflakes on your eyelashes," he pointed out.

"You've got snowflakes in your hair," Anita replied. "It looks like dandruff."

"Yeah, looks like," joked Victor.

"You're disgusting, don't even joke about that," laughed Anita.

"You joked about it first," laughed Victor in reply. They walked headed up for the briefing room. When they got there, they sat on the two empty chairs; Professor Professor was sitting on the one on the left. Changed Daily was at his mantelpiece, as always.

"Ah, Victor, Anita, there you are! As you know, you have an impending promotion that will be given in private for reasons of security, and as you know it is for reasons of security that my name is changed daily. Today, you may call me," he pulled out his communicator, which beeped. "Ohh… Flappy Doodle." Victor, Anita and Professor Professor tried to suppress their laughter.

"What are we being promoted to? No one's told us!" asked Anita.

"Ah, yes, you and Victor are being promoted to Secret Agents."

"Wow! Secret agents?" repeated Victor, astonished.

"And we've only been here four months!" exclaimed Anita.

"Your performance as agents has been very impressive. You make quite a team," said Flappy Doodle. "That and our top agents are retiring."

"This is quite an honor, Flappy Doodle," said Anita.

After the briefing, Victor and Anita got fitted for new uniforms that were more customized than the standard ones.

When she got back to her dorm, Anita found Kowalski was nowhere to be found. When she didn't come back within a half hour, Anita got worried. Remembering that Kowalski had felt a bit sick that morning, she decided to check the locker rooms, which tripled as a shower and restroom. There, she found blood on the floor, along with Kowalski passed out in a shower stall, fully dressed, with the vintage walkman she had on her person seemingly at all times.

Anita checked her pulse and breathing, and picked up her communicator.

"I have an emergency—in the ladies locker room, Agent Kowalski is unconscious, I believe she has been coughing up blood. I've checked her pulse and breathing—both are very moderate…" Anita tried to keep her tone stolid and business-like, but it was difficult. Seeing Kowalski in such a state was a terribly painful experience for Anita.

Kowalski was carried out on a gurney by the team of medically trained agents. Anita stood under a tree and tried not to look.

"What's all the hubbub?" Victor asked, surprising Anita, who had not heard him approach.

"I found Kowalski passed out in the bathroom… and there was blood everywhere… I think Ray was right. I think she has been overworking herself."

"Oh, man. I hope she'll be alright."

"Me, too. She's like my little sister; seeing her like that—it was just unbearable."

Victor wrapped his arms around Anita, who leaned her head against him. Victor felt guilty for enjoying it.

---

Kowalski was brought to the infirmary, where, after she recovered, it was found that an ulcer had formed in her stomach, indeed, from stress.

"This certainly isn't how I planned to spend the holidays," Kowalski joked wearily.

"Kowalski, why didn't you tell anyone how stressed you were? You could have easily avoided this," Anita said. She was sitting in a chair at Kowalski's bedside.

"I don't know… I guess I was so caught up in what I was doing, I didn't want to stop."

"You have to take a break at some point. You could have given yourself a heart attack. You could have given _me_ a heart attack." Anita smiled a teeny bit, which Kowalski returned.

"I'm sorry, Anita."

"It's nothing to apologize for, but try not to overwork yourself again, okay?"

"Okay, Anita."

---

On Christmas day, Victor and Anita were given the day off. It snowed continually, and Victor and Anita spent the day together.

"I love when it snows in London," said Anita. "It always looks so beautiful."

Victor looked at Anita, who was practically buried in her jacket and scarf. Snow was caught in her eyelashes again.

"You've got snow in your eyelashes again," he commented.

"Why do you always point that out?" she asked with a smile.

"I don't know. It looks pretty, like, um, a photograph."

"Like a photograph?" Victor wanted to slap his palm against his forehead in embarrassment. What was he saying?!

"Well, um, like an arty photograph, you know… Or a scene in a movie, I guess. What am I trying to say here? I have no idea what I'm talking about!" Victor laughed.

"It's sweet of you to say—I think." Anita, quite unexpectedly, kissed his cheek. Victor just knew his face turned bright red. Anita smiled.

"Come on, let's go ice skating!" She pulled Victor by his arm, and they ran off together.

---

_Mm-hmm… I'm tired._


	11. Chapter 11

For Christmas, Victor figured he should get Anita something. She was his partner and friend, after all. After they went ice "skating" on what turned out to be thick patches of ice in a parking lot, Victor told her he needed to go back to his dorm room for something important and that he would be back in a little while.

"Alright; there's something I have to do, anyways." She turned and they headed for their dorms.

Victor hurried down the hall and unlocked his door as quickly as he could. Ray had left a week earlier. When the door finally unlocked, Victor threw it open and rushed past the closet, then ran back and opened it up hastily. Then he stood on his toes and pulled down a little box. It was wrapped in newspaper because Victor didn't want to spend his money on fancy wrapping paper.

He ran out the door, locked it behind him, and rushed over to Anita's dorm room, where she was looking through a drawer.

"HeyAnitaI'mback!" he said all in one breath.

"No peeking!" she called to him.

"Fine, then maybe I won't give you your Christmas present." Victor said jokingly.

"Then I won't give you yours," she retorted playfully. She held a little wrapped package. He held out his gift to her, now rather embarrassed at the fact it was wrapped with newspaper. She smiled.

"Can I open it now?"

"It is Christmas," Victor shrugged. Anita carefully took off the paper as if to make sure it didn't tear, which was really more of a habit. Underneath was a picture frame containing a photograph of her and Victor in summery clothes.

"When was this?" she asked.

"You should know, you took this picture," Victor replied. "It was while we were on the road.

"This is so sweet, Victor!" Anita had a weird feeling, like something inside of her softened. "Here's your gift," she handed him the small wrapped rectangle, as it was not actually a box. Victor tried being as careful as Anita was with the paper, but, as he was not in the habit of doing it, he ended up just ripping it off.

Under the paper was a book titled _Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency_ by Douglas Adams.

"I remembered you saying something about being inspired to hitchhike across Europe from Douglas Adams, so I guessed you were a fan of the _Hitchhiker's_ series, so I thought you might like this one, too."

"You—you are awesome." Victor said.

"I'm glad you like it," said Anita with a smile.

"I'm glad you like _my_ gift. What I gave you is stupid in comparison! Dirk Gently," he laughed.

"Your gift's not stupid, I love it. It's more meaningful and thoughtful,"

"Not as thoughtful as remembering my mentioning Douglas Adams; I don't even remember doing that."

"Well, we both love what we got each other; how about let's leave it at that, alright?"

_How about we leave it at I love _you? Victor thought.

"Okay, that'll work."

---

"The Ballad of You, Me and Pooneil" by Jefferson Airplane played on the alarm clock radio. It was a very old song from the 1960s and it surprised Victor to hear it, particularly on the radio. Mildred liked that song, he remembered. He struck the alarm and sat up. Ray was already awake; his bed made, and was tying his tie.

"You're ridiculous, Ray," said Victor, stretching.

"I'm not the one who sleeps with a teddy bear," replied Ray unequivocally.

"Hey!" Before Victor could say more, someone knocked at the door.

"Come in," called Ray. The door opened and Anita stepped in wearing her new uniform. It was a purple bodysuit with bellbottoms and a black belt with a yellow square and red button in the middle. Her shoes were black, as well, and, as usual, she wore her purple headband. Attached to the belt was her communicator, which was customized and purple.

"Whoa, Purple Haze," remarked Victor.

"Shut up, Victor."

"So this is your new uniform?" Ray asked.

"Yep, and I came over to deliver Victor's," She handed him a folded-up blue uniform with its accessories all wrapped up in some kind of plastic packaging.

"I should probably get up now," said Victor as he stepped out of bed. He took the uniform from Anita and headed for the closet, which was roomy enough for him to change his clothes in without having to leave the room.

Shortly after he shut the closet door, Ray told him he and Anita would be out in the hall waiting for him. When he stepped out, Victor looked at himself in the attached floor-length mirror on the closet door. He thought this was a much cooler and more comfortable uniform, particularly since he didn't have to wear sunglasses or a backpack. He had agents to do that for him now. He struck a pose that he thought seemed Secret Agent-y, and then thought he heard his name from the other side of the door.

He started to open it, but then heard a bit more of what was being said.

"So you like having Victor as your partner?" Ray asked.

"Oh, definitely. I wanted to get to know him better, anyways, and that didn't seem to be happening while we were all on the road. What do you think of him as a roommate?"

"He snores," said Ray. "And he doesn't always clean up after himself properly, but I'd say he's a pretty cool guy." Now that was the preferable way to have people talk about you behind your back. Then Ray asked a question neither Victor nor Anita seemed to be expecting.

"Would you date him?" Anita did the very thing that would hurt any guy's ego: she laughed.

"You ask the girliest questions sometimes, you know that?"

"So I take it you wouldn't?"

"Hm, no, I might. I mean, if he ever asked me or something. But right now I just see him as my best friend." Ray gasped in a jokingly offended way.

"I thought I was your best friend!" Anita laughed. Victor stepped out and they looked over at him.

"Hey, Victor, ready for our first mission as Secret Agents?" Anita asked. Ray stood there in a salute.

"Um, yeah, I guess so," he said. Ray continued to stand in a salute.

"At your leave, sir!" he said.

"What?"

"Just salute back." Victor shrugged and saluted in return.

"Shall we go?" Anita asked. Victor nodded and they headed off.

---

At the end of the day, Victor flopped onto his bed.

"That was awesome," his voice cracked. However, he was too tired to try and clear his throat and make his voice deeper, so he just said, "I hate my voice."

"You think that's bad, you should have heard me at seventeen," said Ray. "I sounded like Johnny Rotten."

"For some reason I can see that," laughed Victor in a tired way.

"Shut up, Victor."

"Hey! Do not talk to your superior that way!" Victor pointed his index finger upward.

"I'm off duty," said Ray.

"I'm not," said Victor. "I forgot to take off my uniform… but I don't feel like getting up."

"You know you're going to have to move out soon, right?"

"What?" Victor sat up.

"Yeah, you, Anita and I are all going to have to move out of the dormitory. We have two examinations, then we graduate, and then we have to move out."

"Aww… I was hoping my college experience would last longer than that. Like, by about three and a half years."

"Yeah, you maybe; I'm glad this was so short. I already had a degree and a house and whatnot before I went on the road with Anita."

"Did you have a wife, too?" Victor joked rather halfheartedly.

"I had a fiancée, but we broke up."

"Oh. Sorry for asking."

"Ah, don't be. It wasn't going to work, anyway."

Victor had fallen asleep without realizing it.

---

Kowalski was doing better by New Years and was allowed to live in her dorm room again, though she wasn't permitted to doing serious missions.

Anita came to visit her on the eve of New Years Eve, while she was still in the infirmary.

"So you can come back to the dorms tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yep! I can't wait. I am sooo sick of this hospital room."

"Well, I'm glad you're doing better."

"I'm glad I am, too, I missed being roomies!" Anita felt guilty then.

"Well, when you come back, you won't be roomed with me for very long."

"What?!"

"Well, I'm graduating from the U.Z.Z. Academy in February. So we'll be roommates for about a month." Kowalski let out a frustrated sigh.

It seemed like since joining U.Z.Z., Kowalski and Anita never got to spend time together, and the further behind Kowalski fell from her friends, the further apart they seemed to be driven.

"I'm sorry, Kowalski. I know how busy things have been, and I haven't really been able to spend time with you…"

"No, it's fine. You've got important things to do, I get it."

"Well, Ray, Victor and I are having a little new year's soiree in the dorm laundry room, you should come!"

"In the laundry room?" asked Kowalski, laughing a bit.

"We couldn't really hold it anywhere else." Anita said with a shrug.

"Is Kent coming?"

"No… None of us have really seen him in a while. He seems to sort of disappear and reappear."

"Huh, that's weird. Well, I'm glad he's not coming," Kowalski looked to the wall. "He bugged me."

"How?"

"He just did."

---

_The next chapter might be the last one; otherwise it'll be the one after that. _


	12. Chapter 12

Late New Years Eve, Ray, Kowalski, Victor and Anita gathered in the dorm laundry room. They had snack food, a clock, champagne, glasses, music, and sparklers, which they would set off on campus at midnight.

Victor and Anita sat off in the corner, on two washing machines. Ray and Kowalski were dealing with unintentional party crashers.

"Did Ray ever tell you he had a fiancée?" Victor asked.

"Yes, I'd met her. Ray's a family friend."

"What happened between them?"

"Well, he asked her to marry him, apparently on a bit of a whim, and they were excited about it at first. But after a short period of time, his fiancée, Mary, felt it wasn't a very good idea after all. Ray says the feeling was mutual, but I think he was a little upset about it. That's part of the reason why we went on the road together."

"Ah, I see. I guess he's gotten over it by now, though; he told me it wouldn't have worked."  
"Hey guys! Get over here!" Ray opened a champagne bottle, sending the cork flying. It smacked into a wall clock and broke it. Ray and Kowalski laughed for about ten seconds before they started crying.

Victor found and later actually realized that he was the kind of person who got tipsy very easily.

"You know, Anita, there was something I was meaning to tell you, but… I forgot what it was."

"You can tell me when you're sober again," Anita was, inversely, more impervious to the affects of alcohol than most.

"You're so nice, Anita," Victor put his arm over her shoulder. "We should have a marriage. We should have a marriage license."

"I think it's a bit early for that," Anita decided to humor him. "Maybe you shouldn't have anymore champagne. How much have you had?"

"This is my first glass!" Anita turned to Ray.

"Ray, how much champagne has Victor had?"

"He's still on his first glass." Anita laughed.

"You're a wimp, Victor!" she continued to laugh.

"Oh, yeah? Well, would a wimp do this?" Victor put down his glass, put his arms around Anita and kissed her right on the lips.

"I knew it!" yelled Kowalski, although Victor didn't hear her. Anita didn't quite hear her, either, but that was because she was too shocked.

Ray said as he looked to the clock. "Oh, it's almost midnight. We should get outside to set off the sparklers." Victor and the others stood up (or tried to, Victor fell over pretty much immediately), but Anita stayed seated agape, with an expression that resembled the hole she'd accidently smashed in the wall when she was eleven, but that's another story.

"Anita, come on! It's almost new years!" yelled Kowalski. Anita snapped out of it and got up to run after her.

When they were out on the campus, Kowalski handed each of them, excluding Victor, a sparkler from a box, which Ray lit with a lighter.

There were a lot of agents, new and alum, out on the campus. Kowalski ran about handing out sparklers, as she had more than one box. Ray lit them after her.

Anita stood a bit awkwardly with Victor, who seemed to have forgotten that he'd kissed her. In fact, he looked a bit sick.

"Victor, are you alright?"

"No, sweet wife Agnes, no I'm not…" Anita gave him a confused look and shook her head.

"There's too much excitement here, how about I take you back to your dorm?" She put her sparkler out in the snow.

"You don't have to do that, I—whoa—I'm not fine," he said as a familiar wave of nausea flew through him. Anita patiently helped him walk back to his dorm room, unlocked it, and helped him into bed. She went into the bathroom and pulled a basin out from under the sink counter and put it beside Victor's bed. He was snoring lightly, and outside the countdown had started.

"10…9…8…7…6…"

Anita tucked him in.

"5…4…3…2…1…!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everyone outside hollered and Anita gave Victor a little kiss on the forehead.

---

_Yeah, not the ending, but I thought that there was not much more I could add to this chapter._


	13. Chapter 13

When Victor awoke New Years morning, he had a terrible headache and was unsure of how he got to his room. He gingerly sat up and saw Ray sitting up on his bed, with Kowalski sitting on the other end, and they were talking in hushed voices.

"How did I get here?" he asked. Ray and Kowalski looked over at him.

"Good morning, drunky!" greeted Kowalski.

"Drunky?" repeated Victor.

"You know, you get drunk _really_ easily. Like, you would probably get buzzed off of Nyquil." Kowalski commented.

"How much did I have to drink last night?"

"You had one glass of champagne that you didn't even finish," said Ray.

"You will not believe what you did!" exclaimed Kowalski excitedly.

"What? What did I do?" Victor sounded worried.

"You kissed Anita right on the lips! Oh, man, it was funny!" Kowalski held her feet and rolled onto her back.

"I did?! Oh, crap, so I didn't just dream it! I have to apologize… I can't believe I did that! I bet she slapped me; did she slap me?"

"No, actually, she just sort of sat there. She seemed really surprised by it," remarked Ray.

"I have to explain! Augh, what an embarrassing way to start the New Year," Victor swung out of bed. He had a lovely conversation with the floor and then remembered what he was supposed to be doing, so he bid the floor farewell, got up and headed for the door. Then he decided he should probably make himself presentable so as to not make a further ass of himself. All the while, Kowalski and Ray watched him with amusement.

"You know," said Ray conversationally, "Anita didn't seem to mind. She brought you back here, helped you into bed and waited here until I got back."

Victor stuck his head out from the closet.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we were wondering where you guys went, and then we came back and she was reading a book while you were sleeping. She was hesitant to leave you alone," Kowalski said in an equally conversational way.

"Well, at least I know she doesn't hate me," Victor stepped out of the closet and started combing his hair.

"What are you obsessing over how you look for? Just get over there and apologize to her!" Kowalski was getting a bit annoyed.

"Are you sure she's in her dorm?" he asked.

"I don't know where else she would be," Kowalski rolled onto her stomach. Ray rubbed her back with his knuckles. Victor bolted out the door.

"Anita!" he yelled, prompting many annoyed and kind of pained sounding groans, as well as a few people shouting, "Shut up!"

Her dorm room was open, and Anita was sitting at her desk, doing something on her laptop.

"Anita?" Victor said again, quieter this time. She turned look over at him.

"Hello, Victor. Did you sleep well?"

"Uh, I think so. Look, Kowalski told me what happened last night and I just wanted to say that I am _so_ _sorry_. You must think I'm a total jerk now," Victor looked at the floor dejectedly. To his surprise, someone hugged him gently.

"It's alright, Victor. You didn't realize what you were doing."

"So we're still friends, then?" he asked with a little smile.

"Of course," replied Anita. She kissed his nose.

"You seem to avoid kissing me on the lips," Victor commented, then wished he hadn't.

"Would you prefer that I did?" she asked with a smirk. Victor blushed.

"Um…" Anita tweaked his cheek.

"I'm only kidding," she laughed.

"I'm not," said Victor. Anita gave him a surprised look. "Please, Anita, can I, um… Can I kiss you, just this once? So I know for sure," Anita paused and appeared to think about it. She sighed.

"Know what for sure?" Anita asked.

"It's not important as long as I know," replied Victor. Anita was unsatisfied with his answer, but knowing him, she probably wasn't going to get a better one out of him.

"Alright," she sighed. "I just don't want things to be awkward between us."

She slid her arms around his waist and rested her hands on his back. Victor put his hands lightly on her arms, leaned in and bonked into her nose.

"Ow!"

"Sorry," Victor said. "Can I have a do-over?"

"No," said Anita, and she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Her lips were soft, and she smelled sweet. If time were capable of freezing, it did so then. This was definitely better than Victor's first kiss, which was with Lizbeth Greensburg during a game of spin-the-bottle in eighth grade. He'd missed her entire face and kind of grazed her ear. Very embarrassing, and not something Victor liked to think about.

Victor didn't want it to end, but at some point Anita broke the kiss and pulled back, much to his disappointment. That was, in all honesty, the best kiss he'd ever had.

"I thought you said no do-over's," he remarked for reasons he was unsure of.

"I did. You missed, so I kissed you," Damn it! He did it again! He just had no luck when it came to kissing girls, it seemed. At least not sober.

"Was it not as good as you thought it would be?" Anita asked.

"No, actually, it was even better than I expected. And that's saying something, because I already expected it to be great," Anita smiled at him. "I hope I don't screw it up by saying this, but…" Victor looked straight into her eyes. "I think I love you." Anita gave a small sigh.

"I don't know that I'm ready to love again, but," Anita took his hand, "We'll see where this goes." They walked down the corridor, hand-in-hand. They, truthfully, had nothing in common, except for each other.

_---_

_Whop! That was a fun story to write. I'm a bit unhappy with the ending, but that's usually the case with me. I'm never satisfied. Thank you everyone for reading, and thank you for your reviews! I love you all. :D_


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